ISV - Galatians

Chapter 1

1:1  The Letter of Paul to the GalatiansGreetings from PaulFromThe Gk. lacks From Paul—an apostle not sentThe Gk. lacks sent from men or by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead—

1:2  and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches in Galatia.

1:3  May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be yours!

1:4  He gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.

1:5  To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

1:6  There Is No Other GospelI am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ to followLit. for a different gospel,

1:7  which is not really another one. To be sure, there are certain people who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel about Christ.

1:8  But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to youOther mss. lack to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that person be condemned!

1:9  What we have told you in the past I am now telling you again: If anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that person be condemned!

1:10  Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant.Or slave

1:11  Jesus Himself Gave Paul His MessageForOther mss. read Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin.

1:12  For I did not receive it from a man, nor was I taught it, but I received itThe Gk. lacks I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

1:13  For you have heard about my earlier life in Judaism—how I kept violently persecuting God's church and was trying to destroy it.

1:14  I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries, because I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

1:15  But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased

1:16  to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with another human beingLit. with flesh and blood at any time,

1:17  nor did I go up to Jerusalem to seeThe Gk. lacks see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went away to Arabia and then came back to Damascus.

1:18  Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas,I.e. Peter and I stayed with him for fifteen days.

1:19  But I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord's brother.

1:20  (I declareThe Gk. lacks I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.)

1:21  Then I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

1:22  But I was unknown by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea.

1:23  The only thing they kept hearing was this: “The man who used to persecute us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy!”

1:24  So they kept glorifying God for what had happened toThe Gk. lacks what had happened to me.

Chapter 2

2:1  How Paul Was Accepted by the Apostles in JerusalemThen fourteen years later I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me.

2:2  I went in response to a revelation, and in a private meeting with the reputed leaders I set before them the gospel I proclaim among the Gentiles. I did this because I was afraid thatLit. Lest somehow I was running or had run for nothing.

2:3  But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

2:4  However, false brothers were secretly brought in. They slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus so that they might enslave us.

2:5  But we did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.

2:6  Now those who were reputed to be important added nothing to my message.Lit. to me (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God pays no attention to outward appearances.)

2:7  In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised.

2:8  For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the Gentiles.

2:9  So when James, Cephas,I.e. Peter and John (who were reputed to be leaders)Lit. pillars recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

2:10  The only thing they asked us to do was to remember the destitute, the very thing I was eager to do.

2:11  Paul Confronts Cephas in AntiochBut when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly wrong.Or was self-condemned

2:12  For until some men came from James, he was in the habit of eating with the Gentiles, but after they came he drew back and would not associate himself with them, being afraid of the circumcision party.

2:13  The other Jews also joined him in this hypocrisy, to the extent that even Barnabas was caught up in their hypocrisy.

2:14  But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “Though you are a Jew, you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the Gentiles must live like Jews?”

2:15  Jews, Like Gentiles, Are Saved by FaithWe ourselves are Jews by birth, and not Gentile sinners,

2:16  yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.Or by faith in Jesus Christ We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by the faith of ChristOr by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for no human beingLit. no flesh will be justified by the works of the law.

2:17  Now if we, while trying to be justified in Christ, have been found to be sinners, does that mean that Christ is a minister of sin? Of course not!

2:18  For if I rebuild something that I tore down, I demonstrate that I am a wrongdoer.

2:19  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ.

2:20  I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God,Or by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

2:21  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Chapter 3

3:1  Believers Are Approved by GodYou foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus Christ clearly portrayed as crucified before your very eyes?

3:2  I want to learn only one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the worksLit. through the works of the law or by believing what you heard?Lit. through the hearing of faith

3:3  Are you so foolish? Having started out with the Spirit, are you now ending up with the flesh?

3:4  Did you suffer so much for nothing? (If it really was for nothing!)

3:5  Does GodLit. he supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do the worksLit. through the works of the law or because you believe what you heard?Lit. through the hearing of faith

3:6  In the same way, Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”Gen 15:6

3:7  You see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham's real descendants.

3:8  Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, “Through you all nationsOr all the Gentiles will be blessed.”Gen 12:3

3:9  Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.

3:10  No One is Justified by the LawCertainly all who depend on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the book of the law!”Deut 27:26

3:11  Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.”Hab 2:4

3:12  But the law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, “The person who keeps the commandmentsLit. who does them will have life in them.”Lev 18:5

3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!”Deut 21:23

3:14  This happenedThe Gk. lacks This happened in order that the blessing promised toLit. the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promised SpiritOr the promise of the Spirit through faith.

3:15  Brothers, let me use an example from everyday life.Lit. I am speaking according to man Once a person's will has been ratified, no one can cancel it or add conditions to it.

3:16  Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn't say “descendants,” referring to many, but “your descendant,”Gen 12:7 referring to one person, who is Christ.

3:17  This is what I mean: The law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant previously ratified by God so as to nullify the promise.

3:18  For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by the promise. But it was by a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.

3:19  The Purpose of the LawWhy, then, was the law given?Lit. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions until the descendant came to whom the promise was given. It was put into effect through angels by means of an intermediary.

3:20  Now an intermediary involves more than one party, but God has acted on his own.Lit. God is one

3:21  So is the law in conflict with the promises of God? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could give us life, then certainly righteousness would come through the law.

3:22  But the Scripture has put everything under the power of sin, so that what was promised by the faithfulness of ChristOr by faith in Christ might be given to those who believe.

3:23  Now before this faith came, we were held in custody and carefully guarded under the law in preparation for the faith that was to be revealed.

3:24  And so the law was our guardian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.

3:25  But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the control of a guardian.

3:26  You Are God's ChildrenFor all of you are God's children through faith in Christ Jesus.

3:27  Indeed, all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

3:28  A person is no longer a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a male or a female, because all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

3:29  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants and heirs according to the promise.

Chapter 4

4:1  Now what I am saying is this: As long as an heir is a child, he is no better off than a slave, even though he owns everything.

4:2  Instead, he is placed under the control of guardians and trustees until the time set by the father.

4:3  It was the same way with us. While we were children, we were slaves to the basic principles of the world.Or the elemental spirits of the universe

4:4  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

4:5  in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as his children.

4:6  Now because you are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into ourOther mss. read your hearts to cry out, “Abba!Abba is Aram. for Father. Father!”

4:7  So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if you are a child, then you are also an heir through God.

4:8  However, in the past, when you did not know God, you were slaves to things that are not really gods at all.Lit. gods by nature

4:9  But now that you know God, or rather have been known by God, how can you turn back again to those powerless and bankrupt basic principles?Or elemental spirits Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

4:10  You are observing days, months, seasons, and years.

4:11  I am afraid for you, lest somehow my work for you has been wasted!

4:12  Paul's Concern for the GalatiansI beg you, brothers, to become like me, since I became like you. You did not do anything wrong to me.

4:13  You know that it was because I was illLit. because of a weakness of the flesh that I brought you the gospel the first time.

4:14  Even though my condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me. On the contrary, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself.

4:15  What, then, happened to your positive attitude?Lit. your blessedness For I testify that if it had been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

4:16  So have I now become your enemy for telling you the truth?

4:17  These peopleLit. They are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They want you to avoid me so that you will be devoted to them.

4:18  (Now it is always good to be devoted to a good cause, even when I am not with you.)

4:19  My children, I am suffering birth pains for you again until Christ is formed in you.

4:20  Indeed, I wish I were with you right now so that I could change the tone of my voice, because I am completely baffled by you!

4:21  You Are Children of a Free WomanTell me, those of you who want to live under the law: Are you really listening to what the law says?

4:22  For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman.

4:23  Now the son of the slave woman was conceived according to the flesh, but the son of the free woman was conceived through a promise.

4:24  This is being said as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. The one woman, Hagar, is from Mount Sinai, and her children are born into slavery.

4:25  Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery along with her children.

4:26  But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our mother.Other mss. read the mother of us all

4:27  For it is written, “Rejoice, you childless woman,who cannot give birth to any children! Break into song and shout,you who feel no pains of childbirth! For the children of the deserted womanare more numerous than the childrenof the woman who has a husband.”Isa 54:1

4:28  So you,Other mss. read we brothers, are children of the promise, like Isaac.

4:29  But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now.

4:30  But what does the Scripture say? “Drive out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.”Gen 21:10

4:31  So then, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

Chapter 5

5:1  Live in the Freedom That Christ ProvidesChrist has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom.Lit. has set us free for freedom So keep on standing firm in it, and stop attaching yourselves to the yoke of slavery again.

5:2  Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

5:3  Again, I insistOr testify that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised is obligated to obey the entire law.

5:4  Those of you who are trying to be justified by the law have been cut off from Christ. You have fallen away from grace.

5:5  For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

5:6  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is faithLit. But faith that is active through love.

5:7  You were running beautifully! Who cut in on you and stopped you from obeying the truth?

5:8  Such influence does not come from the one who calls you.

5:9  A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough.

5:10  I am confidentLit. confident about you in the Lord that you will take no other view of the matter. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God'sThe Gk. lacks God's judgment, whoever he is.

5:11  As for me, brothers, if I am still preaching the necessity ofThe Gk lacks the necessity of circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

5:12  I wish that those who are unsettling you would castrate themselves!

5:13  For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another.

5:14  For the whole law is summarized in a single statement: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”Lev 19:18

5:15  But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other.

5:16  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh.

5:17  For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.

5:18  But if you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

5:19  Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity,

5:20  idolatry, witchcraft,Or sorcery hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions,

5:21  envy, murder,Other mss. lack murder drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,Or faith

5:23  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

5:24  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.

5:25  If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

5:26  Let us stop being arrogant, provoking one another and envying one another.

Chapter 6

6:1  Help Each OtherBrothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person in a spirit of gentleness. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well.

6:2  Practice carrying each other's burdens. In this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

6:3  For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is only fooling himself.

6:4  Each person must approve his own actions, and then he can boast about his own accomplishments and not those of his neighbor.

6:5  For everyone must carry his own load.

6:6  The person who is taught the word should share all his goods with his teacher.

6:7  Stop beingOr Do not be deceived; God is not to be ridiculed. A person harvests whatever he plants.

6:8  For the person who plants in his flesh will harvest decay from the flesh, but the person who plants in the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit.

6:9  Let us not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up.

6:10  So then, whenever we have the opportunity, let us practice doing good to everyone, especially to the family of faith.

6:11  A Final Warning Against CircumcisionLook at how large these letters are because I am writing with my own hand!

6:12  These people who want to impress others by their flesh are trying to force you to be circumcised, simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

6:13  Why, not even those who are circumcised obey the law! They simply want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your flesh.

6:14  But may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world!

6:15  For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. Rather, what matters is beingThe Gk. lacks what matters is being a new creation.

6:16  Now may peace be on all those who live by this principle, and may mercy be on the Israel of God.

6:17  From now on let no one make trouble for me, for I carry the scars of Jesus on my own body.

6:18  Final GreetingMay the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers! Amen.